Poker Strategy

Playing Draws – What Are Your Options?

Playing draws is one of the toughest parts of playing No Limit Holdem poker. The question often arises in a player's head as to what they should do. Do I raise? Do I just call? Do I fold? In poker, there is almost never one certain and definite answer, but there are some things that you should be evaluating. This article is going to look at draws from three perspectives, folding, calling, and raising. Hopefully from reading this and implementing it into your game, you'll come to learn it's better to raise than call with a draw.

Buying Cards And Bluffing On The Flop In A Limit Holdem Cash Game
While pre-flop play is a big part of defining what happens in a limit holdem cash game hand, it is the flop that will set up most of your wins and losses. Often times play on the flop is straight forward. If you have a made hand, you bet or raise it. If you have a hand that failed to improve, you fold. It is in the times where the play is not so apparent that determines the big winners and losers in a cash game. This article is going to look at two specific situations that can help you extract additional bets and value in your cash game sessions.

Stealing The Blinds In Limit Holdem
Most people who play limit hold em cash games have the failed belief that stealing blinds is a worthless proposition. After all, it's only one small bet for the big blind to see the flop. Understanding when and when not to steal the blinds can make the difference between a winning and losing session in Limit Hold Em.
For this discussion, stealing is open raising first to act from either the cutoff, button, or small blind. There are four specific factors you should be looking at when deciding whether to steal or not.
#1 – the actual strength of your hand.

Defending The Blinds In Limit Hold Em
In Limit Hold Em cash games, many people either over defend or under defend their blinds when someone has made what appears to be an apparent steal raise. Understanding when and when not to defend the blinds can turn a significant loss into a win.
Since very few people will fold to a three bet after they've opened for a raise, there are primarily three main factors to consider when deciding whether or not to defend your blind.
#1 – the actual strength of your hand.
#2 – the probability that the initial raiser is indeed stealing.